Beaton Bulletin (February 2016)

Greetings Friends,

The end of February 2016!? How time seems to fly! We hope that you have all had a good start to the year.

Here are some news highlights and challenges from our past two months:

Not enough Rain!

Many parts of Malawi have not received anywhere near enough rain! This could have serious consequences later in the year as most people still survive on subsistence farming and crops will be limited. People are rightly very concerned at this stage!

EBCoM

The first semester at the Evangelical Bible College of Malawi ended at the close of January and we kick off again in March. Robbie was very encouraged by the attitude of a number of the first and second year students who were genuinely enthusiastic and eager to learn.

Hospitality Ministry

Things have been a little quieter since Christmas/new year but Lesley have still has a steady flow of visitors for meals, fellowship and a room. With the recent expansion of our family the office/study now doubles up as our guest bedroom.

Beracah Support Ministry

Robbie is keen to see this ministry to Pastors grow. He wants to effectively expand in order to help more of God’s servants/leaders in Malawi. Please read about Beracah overleaf and consider how

you might be involved as a partner.

‘New’ Car

Robbie has purchased a hardy second hand vehicle with a good engine (Nissan Hardbody 3.2L Diesel) which will make a big difference to his travels around the country visiting Pastors and Churches.

Family

We give thanks for our spacious family home in Zomba, for friends for the children, for the fact that we can home-school, and for the various opportunities that each of our children has to grow and develop in this context. We are contemplating ‘fitting’ a kitchen as the old one is very basic and makes regular hospitality quite challenging for Lesley.

Prayer Items:

Many parts of Malawi are desperate for rain! Many people are struggling to grow their staple crops as a result. Give thanks for Robbie’s vehicle and for those who contributed financially. Give thanks for the good semester at EBCoM. Pray for the students for diligence and that God will meet all their needs. Ask God to guide the search committee as they seek for a new Principal. Resources to fit a kitchen and develop/refurbish the existing out-building on the

property as a guest cottage for Lesley’s hospitality ministry. Pray for the development of Beracah Support Ministry

Beracah Support Ministry

‘Supporting those who Serve’

Beracah Support Ministry is an expansion of my existing ministry supporting God’s servants in Malawi (Pastors in the field) ‘in situ’ in a variety of areas. I pray that many of you will catch this vision and partner with me:

Pastoral Support - to build personal faith through:o Maintaining contacto Visitationo Encouragement through God’s Wordo Praying with and for pastors

Preaching Support - to build ministry capacity through:o Preaching/ Teaching/ Evangelism as requestedo Discipleship: Provision of relevant training for pastors/leaders/church

members in situo Provision of relevant resources for the aboveo Arranging for preachers/teachers/ministry teams to visit Churches as

requested Practical Support - to build people through:

o A Discretionary Fund- used to meet urgent needs such as: children’s schooling; health crises; farming; weddings; funerals; transport etc.

o A Bursary Fund- used to further develop individuals through formal theological study and/or ministry training

o Connecting Pastors/leaders with people willing and able to help meet pressing needs

How can you help? Pray: for the Lord’s blessing and provision Give: o Towards the Discretionary and Bursary funds o Towards ministry resources (eg. Bibles, books etc.)o Towards the existing ‘vehicle fund’ (maintenance and fuel) Website/ Web-master: Can you design and maintain a website for this ministry?

If you would like to give: please contact Esther in the Avail office (fmnavail@aol.com) if you are in the UK or contact Robbie directly (thebeatons28@hotmail.com/ +265 991749129) if you are elsewhere in the world. Clearly designate giving to: Beracah Support Ministry.

Pastor Patrick Nanthambwe